Michel Platini spoke about the possibility of a winter World Cup after the Uefa executive committee meeting in Prague. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA

Michel Platini, the president of Uefa, said he is not opposed to the idea of rescheduling the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to winter from summer to avoid extreme temperatures in the desert nation.

After a Uefa meeting in Prague today, Platini said it would be easier to organise the World Cup in January, instead of June. "It's true that if we talk about the World Cup in the Gulf in January that would be easier than to play in June," Platini said. "On that I agree, and why not? It's possible."

Platini said, however, that the change, proposed by the outgoing Fifa executive member Franz Beckenbauer, would open up issues, including whether players should be given February to rest.

"How much rest time will we give to the players after the World Cup?" he asked. "If we play in January, will it be February off and then we start again in March? We will discuss this heavily in the months and years to come."

Platini defended the choice of Qatar, claiming players had already faced extreme heat at the 1994 World Cup in the US. "The temperature in Dallas was 45C (113F), if I'm not mistaken, in 1994 and nobody criticised the US at the time," he said.